Dental articulator.



H. F. SMITH &'H. S. DANO.

DENTAL ARTICULATOR.

APPLICATloN m50 Mov. 16. 1914.

'lI/I//l/IIIIA IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII/a 7111/4 HH Mm NWB!" r mimi AttorneyUNITED STATES PATENT CFFICE.

HORACE F. SIVJILII AND HARRY S. DANO, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DENTAL ARTICULA'IOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

Application filed November 16, 1914. Serial No. 872,418.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, HORACE F. SMITH and HARRYS. DANO, citizens of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in thecounty of Los Angeles, State of California, have invented a new anduseful Dental Articulator, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to dental articulators, and relatesmore particularly to novel and improved means for applying the plastercasts or molds to the jaws of an articulator.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a pair ofattachments for the jaws of a dental articulator, which attachments areprovided with unique adjustable means for holding various casts ormolds, and which attachments are also provided with novel means forattaching them to the jaws of the articulator.

It is also within the scope of the invention, to provide an apparatus orappliance of the nature indicated, which will be comparatively simpleand inexpensive in construction, which may be applied to various dentalarticulators, and which will be convenient, practical, serviceable andeiiicient in its use, to enable the casts or molds to be readily appliedto and removed from the articulator jaws.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The invention has been illustrated in its preferred embodiment in theaccompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view of theattachments applied to a dental articulator. Fig. Q is a plan view ofone of the attachments. Figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views taken on thelines 3H?) and 4 4, respectively, of Fig. 2, and illustrating theattachment applied to the jaw of the articulator.

The dental articulator delineated in the drawing, is of the ordinarytype, and embodies the upper and lower jaws 1 and 2. The upper jaw 1 isprovided with a tongue extension 3, which overlaps a plate 4, and aclamping screw 5 engages through a longitudinal slot 6 provided in theextension 3 and is threadedly engaged into the plate 4, whereby when thescrew 5 is loosened, the jaw 1 may be adjusted relative to the lower jaw2. rllhe plate 4 is provided with a pair of ears 7. The lower aw 2 isprovided with a pair of rearwardly projecting upturned arms 8terminating in ears 9 which overlap the ears 7, and a hinge pin 10 isengaged through apertures provided in the ears 7 and 9 to hingedlyconnect the upper and lower jaws for oscillatory or articulate movementsimilar to the natural anatomical aw movement, for facilitating theadjustment and the linishing of the casts or molds of teeth. A web 11connects the arms 8 adjacent the ears 9, and has a stop screw 12threaded therethrough for contact with the plate 4, whereby the stopscrew 12 may be employed for limiting the movement of the aws 1 and 2toward one another, to regulate the bite of the particular casts ormolds.

Coming to the present invention, the same embodies a pair of attachments13, which are substantially duplicates of one another, and which areapplicable to the upper and lower jaws of the articulator for applyingthe plaster casts or molds thereto in a satisfactory and eiiicientmanner, without the assistance of plaster' for causing the casts ormolds to adhere to the articulator jaws as is usually resorted to, andwhich is objectionable for obvious reasons.

Each of the attachments 13 embodies a plate 14 adapted to rest againstthe face of one of the articulator jaws, and having transverse channelsor grooves 15 and 16 in its face and back, respectively, intermediateits ends and extending to its side edges. Strips 17 and 18 are engagedslidably in the channels or grooves 15 and 16, and are equipped at theirremote ends with arcuate supplemental or secondary jaws 19 and 20,respectively, which project from the plane of the face of the plate 14.It is preferable to have the channels or grooves 15 and 1G, and thestrips 17 and 18 of dove-tailed cross section, whereby the strips willbe slidably retained within the grooves or channels, to permit of only alateral adjustment of the supplemental jaws 19 and Q0.

In order to draw the supplemental jaws 19 and 2O toward one another, forclamping various sizes and forms of casts or molds therebetween againstthe plate 14, the free end of the face strip 17 is provided with athreaded extension 21 engaged through the supplemental jaw 20, andhaving threaded thereon, a knurled thumb nut 22 which in bearing againstthe supplemental jaw 20, is adapted to hold the supplemental jawsagainst separation. By threading the nut 22 upon the extension 21 of thestrip or shank 17, the supplemental jaws 19 and 2O may be adjusted toand from one another for the intended purposes. lVhen a cast or mold isplaced against the plate 14 between the supplemental jaws 19 and 20 andthe nut 22 tightened, the cast or mold will be tightly clamped in place,and the tightening of the nut 22 will also cause the strips 17 and 18 tobind in place, for holding them against lateral movement, until the nut22 is released.

In order that the plate 14 of each attachment may be readily applied toone jaw of the articulator, the back of the plate 14 is provided withlongitudinal channels or grooves 23 and 24 leading from the forward andrear ends, respectively, of the said plate, and strips or shanks 25 and26 are slidably received by the respective grooves or channels 23 and24, and have their re mote ends formed with hooks 27 and 28,respectively, turned away from the back of the plate 14 at the outer andinner ends of the said plate. The grooves or channels 23 and 24, andstrips or shanks 25 and 26 are preferably of dove-tailed cross sectionto constrain the strips for longitudinal slid ing adjustments.

The inner or rear hook 28 is engageable over the rear 0r inner end ofthe articulator jaw, while the forward or other hook 27 is engageableover the corresponding end of the jaw, it being noted that the strips orShanks 25 and 26 may be slid longitudinally to separate the hooks 27 and28, in order that they may be readily engaged over the articulator jaw,and then slid toward one another to hold the plate 14 against the jaw.The strip or shank 26 having the hook 28 may be clamped at variousadjusted positions by means of a set screw 29 engaged through a slot 30provided in the strip or shank 26 and taking into the back of the plate14, it only being necessary to adjust the hook 28 in adjusting theattachment to accommodate various articulator jaws of di ferent lengths.

In order to readily adjust the forward or outer hook 27, the strip orshank 25 is provided with a longitudinal slot 31 in which is engaged alongitudinal threaded stem 32 having its inner or rearY end engaged inany suitable manner to the back of the plate 14, and having its threadedportion projecting beyond the hook 27 and carrying a knurled thumb nut33 bearing against the said hook to thrust the same inwardly orrearwardly. Thus, the set screw 22 enables the rear or inner hook 28 tobe adjusted for accommodating various articulator jaws having radicaldilferences in lengths, while the nut 33 enables the outer or forwardhook 27 to be quickly adjusted for applying and remow ing the plate 14to and from the articulator. The back of the plate 14 of each attachmentis provided with a marginal rabbet 34 for providing a clearance betweenthe margin of the plate 14 and the articulator jaw.

With the present appliance, it is not necessary to employ plaster orother adhesive material for fastening the plaster casts or molds to thearticulator jaws in the usual fashion, and which consumes considerabletime and labor, but it is only necessary to apply the casts or molds tothe attachments, and to them apply the attachments to the articulatorjaws. As above intimated, the attachments may accommodate various sizesof casts or molds, and may be applied to various articulators. To attachthe casts or molds to the attachments, the nuts 22 are loosened, wherebythe casts or molds may be placed against the plates 14 between. therespective supplemental aws 19 and 20, and in which event the nuts 22may be retightened to clamp the casts or molds in place. Then, byloosening the nuts 33, the hooks 27 may be moved outwardly or forwardly,whereby the hooks 27 and 28 of the two attachments may be readilyengaged over the ends of the articulator jaws, and in which event thenuts 33 may be tightened to clamp the plates 14 of the attachments inplace upon the articulator jaws. The articulator jaws may then bearticulated in the usual manner for completing or inishing the casts ormolds in the usual manner.

By loosening the nuts 22 and 33, the casts or molds may be readilyremoved from the plates 14 and the said plates may also be detached fromthe articulator jaws. It is also to be noted that when the casts ormolds are applied to the plates 14, the plates may be readily applied toand detached fi'om the articulator jaws without disturbing the relationof the casts or molds with the attachments, so that the casts or moldsafter being detached may be readily replaced upon the articulatorwithout inconvenience. The present device thus saves both time andlabor, and is a useful adjunct to the dentist.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1, Anarticulator attachment embodying, a plate, a pair of jaws having shanksslidably engaging the plate, the jaws being adapted to receive a cast ormold, one of the Shanks having an extension engaged through the oppositejaw, a nut threaded upon the said extension and bearing against the saidjaw, and means for attaching the plate to an articulator jaw.

2. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by theplate for holding a cast or mold, and means for attaching the plate toan articulator jaw embodying strips slidably engaging the plate andhaving hooks engageable with the articulator jaw.

3. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by theplate for holding a cast or mold, means for attaching the plate to anarticulator jaw embodying strips slidably engaging the plate and havinghooks engageable with the articulator jaw, and means for holding thesaid strips at various adjustments.

4. An articulator attachment embodying a plate having dove-tailedgrooves in its back and face, strips of dove-tailed cross sectionslidable in said grooves and having jaws at their remote ends, the jawsbeing adapted to receive and hold a cast or mold against the face of theplate, and means for adjusting said jaws to clamp the cast or mold.

5. An articulator attachment embodying a plate having dove-tailedgrooves in its back and face, strips of dove-tailed cross sectionslidable in said grooves and having jaws at their remote ends, the jawsbeing adapted to receive and hold a cast or mold against the face of theplate, the other end of the strip which is slidable in the groove in theface of the plate having an extension engaged through the jaw of theother strip, and a nut threaded upon the said extension and bearingagainst the last mentioned jaw.

6. An articulator attachment embodying a plate, means carried by theplate for holding a cast or mold, means for attaching the plate to anarticulator jaw embodying a pair of hooks carried by the plate, one hookhaving a sham( slidably engaging the plate, a screw terminally engagedto the plate, and a nut threaded upon the screw and bearing against thelast mentioned hook for forcing the same inwardly to clamp thearticulator jaw.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have heretoaifiXed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

HORACE F. SMITH. HARRY S. DANO.

Witnesses THos. SCHNEIDER, MAX SCHNEIDER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

